CHOPIN / BEETHOVEN / BACH / LISZT / MOZART / etc
Pogorelich - Complete Recordings Ivo Pogorelich (piano) with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon / 14 CD Box Set - released 1/Aug/2015 ] "What matters is not what he can do, for this is only the beginning. What matters is how many ideas occur to him and how much he can demand of the music and of himself. In short, he is an artist who must be taken seriously, a hugely talented pianist... |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Complete Symphonies Lynda Russell (soprano) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Warsaw Boys' Choir, Antoni Wit, Michael H [ Naxos / 15 CD Box Set - released 10/May/2017 ] "The excellent quality of the Katowice Orchestra of Polish Radio is impressively demonstrated...it stands comparison with any rival" Penguin Guide on No 6 |
HENRY PURCELL
Purcell: Complete Chamber Music Rémy Baudet (violin), Sayuri Yamagata (violin), Elisabeth Ingenhousz (violin) Rainer Zipperling (viola da gamba), Johannes Boer (viola da gamba), etc [ Brilliant Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 10/Mar/2008 ] A rare treat: no less than 7 CDs with instrumental chamber music by Henry Purcell. In spite of his past and present international fame too little attention has been paid to this part of his oeuvre. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Complete String Quartets Quartetto Italiano [ Decca Collectors Edition / 8 CD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2012 ] "One is unlikely to assemble a more consistently satisfying overview of these works, or one so beautifully played. They hold a very special place in the Mozartian discography." *** Three Stars Penguin Stereo Guide |
BRAHMS / BEETHOVEN / SCHUBERT / SCHUMANN
The Complete Decca Solo Recordings (special price 10 CD set) Radu Lupu (piano) [ Complete Decca Recordings / 10 CD Box Set - released 1/Aug/2012 ] "This is playing of quite exceptional insight and naturalness...and this set as a whole is well worth seeking out." (Penguin Guide) |
RACHMANINOV / CHOPIN / SCHUMANN / LISZT
Rafael Orozco - The Philips Legacy Rafael Orozco (piano) / Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Edo de Waart [ Decca / Eloquence / 8 CD Box Set - released 5/Jul/2024 ] Collected here are the complete Philips recordings of one of Spain's piano aristocracy, winner of the 1966 Leeds Piano Competition. There is passion and poetry in equal measure, and an instinctive feeling for the ebb and flow of a phrase... |
J. S. BACH / MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER / ARCANGELO CORELLI / etc
A Baroque Christmas (Limited Edition) Akademie fur Alte Berlin, RIAS Kammerchor, René Jacobs / Ensemble 415,Chiara Banchini / Ensemble Correspondances, Sébastien Daucé [ Harmonia Mundi / 4 CD Box Set - released 4/Oct/2019 ] Ranging from unaffected simplicity to elaborate polyphony, the composers of the 17th and 18th centuries left us some of the most sublime pages of sacred music intended to tell the story of the Nativity. The extraordinary musical legacy produced as a... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Sonatas For Piano & Violin Renaud Capuçon (violin), Kit Armstrong (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / 4 CD Box Set - released 7/Jul/2023 ] This 4-CD album of Mozart's 16 Sonatas for violin and piano, played by Renaud Capuçon and Kit Armstrong, showcases the brilliance of the composer's chamber music and mastery of both instruments. The sonatas have been central to this duo's partnership... |
MATTHIAS WECKMANN
Complete Works Ricercar Consort, La Fenice [ Ricercar / 5 CD Box Set - released 22/Apr/2016 ] Matthias Weckmann is doubtless the most fascinating Hamburg composer of the mid-17th century. A disciple of Schütz, nurtured on Italian music and, in particular, that of Claudio Monteverdi, he shone in all genres, achieving an impressive blending of... |
LOUIS COUPERIN
The Complete Harpsichord Works RIchard Egarr (harpsichord) [ Harmonia Mundi / 4 CD Box Set - released 3/Oct/2011 ] "Egarr revels in the variety, both harmonic and rhythmic, that this music contains, and the interpretative opportunities it offers. I don't think anyone, even Egarr, would suggest listening to all four of these CDs at a single sitting, but in smaller... |
GERALD FINZI
A Finzi Anthology Robert Plane (clarinet), Tim Hugh (cello), Roderick Williams (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano), James Gilchrist (tenor), John Mark Ainsley (tenor) [ Naxos / 8 CD - released 9/Sep/2016 ] More than any other composer, Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) has come to embody the lyrical pastoralism so associated with English twentieth-century music. This anthology includes eight critically acclaimed recordings of Finzi's works. The themes of... |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffman (The Tales of Hoffman) (complete opera) Roberto Alagna, Jose van Dam, Natalie Dessay, Sumi Jo / l'Opera National de Lyon, Kent Nagano [ Erato Warner Classics Home of Opera / 3 CD - released 20/May/2016 ] "Kent Nagano uses Kaye's complete edition preserving the recitatives. He balances this by taking quite a brisk view of the tempi and the pacing of the piece." MusicWeb |
GIROLAMO FRESCOBALDI
Frescobaldi: Complete Keyboard Works Roberto Loreggian (organ & harpsichord) [ Brilliant Classics / 15 CD Box Set - released 1/Mar/2023 ] Definitive recordings by the leading Frescobaldi performer of our time, now more conveniently packaged than ever. In 2007, Roberto Loreggian embarked on a project that would see him record every published work by Girolamo Frescobaldi. Issued as a... |
GIROLAMO FRESCOBALDI
Frescobaldi: Complete Unpublished Works for Harpsichord and Organ Roberto Loreggian (harpsichord/organ) [ Brilliant Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583- 1643) was one of the most important and influential composers for the keyboard in the early 17th century. He embraced the late renaissance style in his early output, and by the end of his life had contributed some of the... |
FERDINAND HEROLD / PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY / ADOLPHE ADAM
The Art of Natalia Osipova: La Fille mal gardée / Swan Lake / Giselle / Force of Nature BLU-RAY Royal Ballet, Covent Garden / Natalia Osipova, with Steven McRae, Philip Mosley, Christopher Saunders, Matthew Golding, Elizabeth McGorian & others [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / 4 Blu-ray Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] Russian dance superstar Natalia Osipova joined The Royal Ballet as a Principal in 2013 and has since filled each of her leading roles with an unforgettable passion, fiery energy and technical prowess. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart Operas Box Set: Don Giovanni / Die Zauberflöte / Le Nozze di Figaro [complete operas recorded 2003-2008] Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Simon Keenlyside, Kyle Ketelsen, Miah Persson, Joyce DiDonato, Dorothea Röschmann, Erwin Schrott, etc [ Opus Arte DVD / 5 DVD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2014 ] "…as flames rage over the opening cast credits, Sir Charles Mackerras conducts an incandescent Overture which kindles the brilliance, clarity and indefatigable energy of his music direction throughout." (BBC Music on Don Giovanni) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Macbeth / Il Trovatore / La Traviata (complete operas recorded 2002 - 2011) BLU-RAY Royal Opera / Simon Keenlyside, Liudmyla Monastryrska, Jose Cura, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Renee Fleming, Joseph Calleja / Antonio Pappano & Carlo Rizzi ( [ Opus Arte / BBC Blu-Ray / 3 Blu-ray Box Set - released 20/Feb/2018 ] This trio of unforgettable Royal Opera productions features some of the most cherished and admired examples of Verdi's operatic genius. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Orchestral Favourites Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Choral Society, Owain Arwel Hughes, Philip Ellis, Nick Davies, with soloists [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2020 ] Classical hits from one of the world's great orchestras: a fabulous introduction to the world of music at a super-budget price. |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Complete Ballets [Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker] Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicolae Moldoveanu, Barry Wordsworth & David Maninov [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 22/Jan/2021 ] All three ballets by Tchaikovsky in one release! Tchaikovsky's ballets, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, are by far the most popular ballet music ever written, and count among the master's most famous works. |
HUGO ALFVEN
Alfven: Complete Symphonies, Suites & Rhapsodies Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Niklas Willen [ Naxos / 7 CD Box Set - released 25/Nov/2022 ] The music of Hugo Alfvén has always been close to the hearts of the Swedish people. He is regarded as representing the spirit of the country, partly owing to his intimate knowledge of Swedish folk music. |